PM in Washington says unity of the free world to be the best answer to any aggressor

Ukraine is defending not only Ukraine - we are defending Europe and international law and order, Prime Minister of Ukraine emphasized at AJC Global Forum in the framework of his working visit to Washington, on Monday, June 8.

He underlined that Ukrainian and Jewish people have much in common: “We lived through very difficult times and we faced unspeakable evil. Millions of Jews were killed during the Holocaust just for their desire to live and to exist as a nation, a human being, as people. Millions of Ukrainians during the Great Famine or Holodomor had been killed by Soviets for the same reason – for their desire to exist and flourish as a nation.”

Arseniy Yatsenyuk stressed that Ukraine is facing tremendous challenges. He underlined that Russia illegally annexed Crimea and launched a crackdown on Crimean Tatars, their liberties and their human rights, "then Russia-led terrorists and Russian troops invaded Donetsk and Luhansk. And Russia started to intimidate the entire world."

The Prime Minister emphasized that Ukraine is fighting against the Russian regular army: "We succeeded in deterring Russian military. Ukraine is defending not only Ukraine - we are defending Europe and international law and order. So it is not just about the Ukrainian people - it is about the globe."

He recalled that in 1994 Ukraine together with the US, Britain and Russia signed the "notorious Budapest Memorandum", according to which Ukraine relinguished one of the biggest nuclear arsenals in exchange for the territorial integrity, independence and sovereignty. But now, he said, Ukraine has lost part of its territory, "This concrete fact actually undermines global efforts of nuclear non-proliferation. Just imagine that someone in Iran or another country can say: “Look, Ukraine as a country abandoned nuclear weapons and lost the territory, so what kind of additional guarantees we can get?"

"And we have to draw out of this lesson very important issues. Ukraine matters too much for nuclear non-proliferation and peace and stability in the entire Europe ", he stressed.

 "We strongly believe that we will regain control over Donetsk, Luhansk and Crimea. We will control our territory," Arseniy Yatsenyuk said.

He highlighted the importance of the unity of all members of the European Union and the entire free world.

"Today, the free world is in jeopardy. This is the war not just between Russia and Ukraine. This is the war between the past and the future. This is the war between the dark and the light. This is the war between the freedom and dictatorship. And to win this war we have to be united," he stressed.

"United - we win, divided- we fail," the Prime Minister said.

According to Arseniy Yatsenyuk, it is important to be united inside the EU and between the European Union and the USA: "Your unity is the best recipe and the best answer to any aggressor and any aggression. United and strong response to those who want to undermine the global order, "draw" new lines after the Second World War, who do not respect the rights and freedoms, who do not respect democracy and our nations. They are our enemies."

He underlined that Ukrainian and Jewish people have much in common: “We lived through very difficult times and we faced unspeakable evil. Millions of Jews were killed during the Holocaust just for their desire to live and to exist as a nation, a human being, as people. Millions of Ukrainians during the Great Famine or Holodomor had been killed by Soviets for the same reason – for their desire to exist and flourish as a nation.”

 The Prime Minister expressed his appreciation to the American Jewish Committee and personally to AJC Executive Director David Harris of supporting Ukraine and sending a letter to the White House to support the Ukrainian people in the fight against Russian aggression.

  "We will never surrender, we will fight and win. We will succeed. This is our future ", Arseniy Yatsenyuk stated.

American Jewish Committee Global Forum is a broad international platform, which annually gathers over 2,000 participants from more than 70 countries. US Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, Madeleine Albright, Hillary Clinton, John Kerry and other world leaders were among those who addressed their speeches to participants of the Forum in different years.

AJC